[Pj]

What pole Dave?

[Moderator David@stives]

All will be revealed later ah ah

[Pj]

Awwwwwwww!

Bet you couldn't catch an old trout with it!

[mark dew]

There are very few trades that can be learned properly in 10 minutes. Which is how long it will take to learn how to clean a window.
The real skill with our work is in becoming very quick, pricing properly and marketing ourselves in the best way possible. That does take time and experience.

[Moderator David@stives]

one final thought

Taken from business link

If you are operating in a market that is stagnant, or in decline, you may want to exit the business or merge
with competitors. Larger companies are usually in a better position to exploit mature markets.
It is difficult for a small business to create market growth.

Window cleaning at the moment is a growth market , but when it does become saturated there is still hope.

[matt]

I wish people would NOT post how much they earn.

Not boasting but my hourly rate is very good even by window cleaning standards, AND I WANT IT TO STAY THAT WAY

Saying "Yeah I earn like £200 a day" etc, sure I dont doubt it but why tell the world?  If people generally knew how much window cleaners get a lot more would do it, which would NOT be good for us.

Window cleaning is a nice well kept secret.  We know its great.  So why do numpty boasters feel the need to tell the world about it and jeopardise our businesses?  dont know if you noticed but type window cleaning in to google and you get...this forum.  Foreigners will do that and see how much they can earn and think "aha"

SO PLEASE STOP WITH THE "HOW MUCH I EARN IN A DAY" STUFF.

thats the first post you have made thats made sence

thats 1 post that was helpfull and 1 that made sence

2008 has really been your years hasnt it

[macmac]

Moderators:

I have not considered this for long enough but have you considered making it the forum rules that people cant post their earnings on here? as it seems to cause alot of friction. I think its fine to discuss the individual price of a job in the "how much for this" type threads but anything else seems to be go out of control, Luke

The problem with that luke is someone will show a 4 bed detatched property & the braggers will be at it again with silly statements like- 50 quid, wouldn't get out of bed otherwise :
We can all look big & mighty on a forum if we want to but it doesn't help anyone.

Tony

[Moderator David@stives]

easy clean you dont fancy changing a clutch in a 1990 911 carrera 4 do you ?

[dai]

The real big hitters in window cleaning never even post on here, or any other forum for that matter, they just quietly get on with their business. Educating the opposition is the last thing a hard headed businessman would do.
Dave ST Ives has done well since he went over to WFP, I remember him posting when he was about to become an employer.
Dave, did you buy more work at this time? A little insight into your thinking at that time would be enlightening.
You were a trad cleaner with a good round, we both went WFP at the same time, if my memory serves me right. something happened shortly afterwords, that seemed to take your business on to new heights.
Did you buy more work, canvass like hell or what.

Your experience in taking your business forward, would be a lot more interesting than what other people earn. Dai

[Moderator David@stives]

Dai

To tell you the truth i dont know what fully happened.

I didnt buy any more work , infact i gave loads up and gave a lot to other window cleaners.

For about 2 years i lived and breathed window cleaning even waking up in the middle of the night stressing about certain jobs.
All the people who know me know that i am curious and mithered everone at trade shows etc picking there brains etc.

I sat and worked out how the big guns did it, I noticed they all worked at there businesses constantly shaping and molding it.
I set myself  targets for how much extra turnover i wanted, then worked out what it took to achieve each and every goal.

A lot of business is won on personality, my wife is electric and lights up rooms when she walks in, so a lot of my success can be attributed to my wife, when she goes to give a quote she always bags the job.

I cant put my finger on any one thing, but i would say being in the right place at the right time plays a big part.
Just prepare yourself , act professional at all times and be prepared to pounce when the guy doing the big job down the road messes up.

Dave

[Sir Squeaky]

DJW 

   theres no probs at all

Dave

p.s wheres squeeky, gone fishing ?

If you think I've got a fishing pole you are very wrong.

Besides, I hate fishing, it's the most boring thing in the world. (after window cleaners)

[Moderator David@stives]

All right how much was your superlite ?

And do you still use it ?

Does it break easily ?

My saw me coming pole is great by the way

[L.J.Thorpe]

I wish people would NOT post how much they earn.

Not boasting but my hourly rate is very good even by window cleaning standards, AND I WANT IT TO STAY THAT WAY

Saying "Yeah I earn like £200 a day" etc, sure I dont doubt it but why tell the world?  If people generally knew how much window cleaners get a lot more would do it, which would NOT be good for us.

Window cleaning is a nice well kept secret.  We know its great.  So why do numpty boasters feel the need to tell the world about it and jeopardise our businesses?  dont know if you noticed but type window cleaning in to google and you get...this forum.  Foreigners will do that and see how much they can earn and think "aha"

SO PLEASE STOP WITH THE "HOW MUCH I EARN IN A DAY" STUFF.

sometimes tennet you get my back up on some issues but we agree on this one

[Sir Squeaky]

All right how much was your superlite(2) ? I got a deal, but would have been £350-odd.

And do you still use it ? Yes, every day.

Does it break easily ? No, stood on it, whacked it, shut the van door on it. It's mint.
By the way, it's so light I can hold it at 20-odd feet horizontally with one hand.

My saw me coming pole is great by the way At 3 times the price...

[Moderator David@stives]

I seem to remember you had a lot of trouble with it a while back.

How big is it ?

[Sir Squeaky]

That was the original superlight, not the superlight2.
It's totally different.

It's only about 27ft, but that's more than enough at the moment.
If I need higher I'll just buy a few extra sections.

[Pj]

Come on David@StSeagull

Now you've found out from Squeaky exactly what pole he has and how much he paid for it, which one did you get for 1k?

[Moderator David@stives]

60 ft excell, quite a bit less than £1k, got a cracking deal from Windowcleaningwarehouse, so much so i nearly made them cry.
I really wanted a facelift but the 8 ft sections were too much to handle.
I will still buy a 40 ft facelift sometime this year though

http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=51553.0

[Paul Coleman]

And then we get lots of LOUD posts about the potential to earn £500 a day!!!!!
It just doesn't happen (sorry, very rarely happens).
And it takes many years to build and hone a good round, you ain't gonna do this in a few months.
Yet to read some posts you'd think all you need to do is buy a WFP setup and earn squillions!
 

Here, here, here.
Absolutely spot on Ian, that's what get's my back up ( & yes, i know it shouldn't )
Just think of all the newbies reading such rubbish, making big carreer & often financial commitments being fed such utter tripe by boasters who always fail to tell the whole story like how long it will REALY take to start even earning a basic living- nevermind 200+ per day.
My point is- if you're gonna boast how well you are doing you should also add the things it's taken you to get there, like, how long you've been going, what you earned for your first few years etc. Not give readers from all over the country the impression they too can instantley demand 50 quid per hour, how they'll be over-run with customers from day one etc.etc. It's nonesense & is IMO doing more damage than good.

Tony

Sure thing Tony.  Although I have some very good earning parts in my round, much of it is pretty good, some of it OK and there's still a little bit of not so good.  However, the struggles I went through at first were enough to put most people off.  Most of the first year I was out in the evening either canvassing or collecting (I do neither these days except an occasional canvass if I pick up a single job in a decent area).  It was very hard work though I did have some time free in the day.  In fact, I may not have got it off the ground at all but for a very well paid driving job that I was doing one week per month.  It involved going away for a week at a time and driving one of those advertising wagons around to advertise new Superdrug stores in the relevant area.  It was done via an advertising agency and I was self-employed.  I gradually built my (very underpriced) W/C round up around it.  No internet then to turn to for advice as it was 1991/92.  That was still a struggle even though I only had trad tools to pay for.  If I had a van/system/poles loan to repay, I don't think I could have done it in spite of the higher hourly rate once the first couple of cleans have been done.

[Paul Coleman]

Potential earnings of......that's what people should be telling us.  it's not an immediate figure that can be achieved.  There should be clear facts on this forum and MORE DELETIONS OF PURELYCRAP POSTS.  Posts get lost VERY QUICKLY in the overhwelming flood of drivel and cack.  Moderators are not doing enough and there needs to be more of them to do it.

You volunteering then?  I see you already have a head start by using red type.